Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Month: January 2019

The Desperate House Sitter

January 30, 2019 / / 54 Comments

July 2018, Newburyport, Massachusetts

“When I come back in six months, it will be winter again,” Mark says, as we pack up in order to take the Amtrak train back from Boston to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

“I’m not coming with you next time,” I reply, “I hate being here in the cold.”

“I don’t blame you,“ Mark responds. “We will make sure to get a house sit by then, so you can stay out west.”

November 2018, Ojai, California

“We really need to find a house sit for January soon. You have to book your plane tickets before they get too pricey,” I say to Mark. We’ve been keeping an eye on sits in Southern California and Arizona on Mind My House and House Sitters America, the two websites we are members of. Nothing decent showed up.

“As long as we don’t know where you and I will be the second week of January, I can’t book any flights,” he says. I know. We need to do something soon, or risk a decision about his departure city. For days I research alternatives. I could boondock in Zesty, but Mark doesn’t like the idea of me being alone in the middle of nowhere without services. Not having unlimited electricity and internet would make it impossible to accept translation projects and work on my book.

We consider a pay campground for twelve days or so. Incredible how expensive those are. I might as well fly back with Mark. It’s cheaper and I’m guaranteed hot showers, WiFi, and electricity. How about staying with friends? Not really an option for that long; we wouldn’t feel good about it. House sitting makes most sense. We reach out everywhere: bulletin boards in Ojai, Facebook groups and personal pages, friends… We even post an ad on Craig’s List. The two reactions we receive from that are “You guys are freeloaders, not wanting to pay for utilities,” and “You won’t find anything in Arizona, it’s the high season.” Continue reading

Wordless Wednesday – Ice Skating in Winter

January 23, 2019 / / 46 Comments

In Newburyport, Massachusetts

In San Diego, California

Spot the seven differences. 🙂

This post is my contribution for this week’s Wordless Wednesday.

I have not touched ice skates since I was a teenager. How about you? Do you ice skate these days? Indoors or outdoors? Only in winter or all year long?

Expense Report 2018

January 20, 2019 / / 19 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and relatively adventurous life without breaking the bank. "The less money you spend, the less you need to make" is my motto. 🙂 Our first yearly expense report (2016) can be found here and the report of 2017 here. In 2018, Mark and I house and pet sat for seven months, lived and traveled in our camper van Zesty for four months, and visited our families back east for one month. What follows is the break-down of how we spent our money in 2018.

Liesbet and Beckwourth, Albuquerque, NM
Liesbet and Gunner, Albuquerque, NM
With Dresden, Zoe, and Barney, Ojai, CA
Walking Dresden, Zoe, and Barney in Ojai, CA
Mark and Skylos have been buddies for thirteen years!
With Skylos in Ocean Beach, San Diego, CA
With Skylos and Casper on the couch
Casper the cat, San Diego, CA

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for the two of us. Under groceries we incorporate all the food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and Mark's vitamins and supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor's visits.

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California Desert Escape

January 13, 2019 / / 55 Comments

What do you do when you feel like you’re overstaying your welcome at a friend’s house in San Diego (and you have a husband antsy to return to nature and could use a little break from memoir work yourself)? You pack up, jump in your camper van, and head into the California desert for a couple of days. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is huge. You opt for the Borrego Springs area as an initiation to this region since you don’t have much time.

Zesty on desert roads

You boondock in solitude and under a million stars.

Hawk Canyon
First use of my selfie stick! 🙂
Spotting another Westy! Her name is Thistle and we chatted with the owners until nightfall.
Quiet spot in the desert
Sunrise in the desert

Continue reading

Monthly Expenses – December 2018

January 8, 2019 / / 18 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂 Since July 2018, Mark and I have been combining van life in our Zesty and house and pet sitting, which we did full-time before that. The best of both worlds! In December we house sat the entire month in Southern California.

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for the two of us. Under groceries we incorporate all the food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and Mark's vitamins and supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor's visits. Health insurance and costs are related to my health care as a permanent resident in the US. Mark is still eligible for free health care in the state of Massachusetts as of today. If a non-emergency were to happen outside of that state, it will be expensive! For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast. I still pay a small quarterly fee in Belgium for health care (required to retain citizenship), which I mention in my year report later this month.

Sunset on a bike ride to Mission Bay, Sn Diego, CA

In December, the last month of the year - the most expensive month for most people - Mark and I finally did it again: we stayed well under $1000. It was actually bound to be the cheapest month of the year for us, until... our web hosting fees were due.

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IWSG Writing Update January 2019 – Titles, Summaries, and Your Help

January 2, 2019 / / 81 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing.

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Patricia Lynne, Lisa Buie-Collard, Kim Lajevardi, and Fundy Blue. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they’re up to.

Happy New Year to all of you! May 2019 bring you good health, a generous portion of happiness, and fun adventures on the road, by rail, on the water, in the sky, and with your writing endeavors.

Some of you have been following my book writing process for a couple of years. Yes, that’s how long I have been reporting on this sailing memoir. I actually started even before that. While life, our business, and other projects got in the way during these years, I am now determined and motivated to get this long-term task checked off my mental list. Yes, after being relatively vague and sharing the occasional excerpt, it is time to take action; time for practicalities. And, with that, I could use your help.

Book Progress

As I started going through my memoir again last month, eager to incorporate the suggestions of my beta readers, I stopped cold after a few chapters. It wasn’t because I couldn’t handle it or grew demotivated. On the contrary. I can’t wait to continue this process. But… I came to the realization that, instead of finishing this round of editing and then writing a non-fiction book proposal and then waiting for news from a potential agent, I might as well get the book proposal over with first and receive rejections while I complete the edits. Think about the time saved with that approach! Continue reading

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